Biotechnology Approaches to Food Security: Risks and Solutions

Food security is defined as the availability and accessibility of nutritional foods to the whole population in order to support a healthy life. Food security has become a primary concern worldwide with one of the most significant challenges being the disparity between the current food supply and an ever-increasing population. Agricultural production and technology are simply insufficient to meet present and future food production challenges. and moreover, if natural resources continue to be used as they are at present, the result will be an additional production burden. Thus, innovative techniques to maximize food availability and ensure sustainability must be explored. In this context, new approaches must be discovered and applied. For example, biotechnology is one approach that offers many advantages to diversify agricultural production by speeding up the development of new varieties of the most utilized crops. For this purpose, biotechnology, particularly GMO plants, can be used to modify the plant’s DNA in order to increase plant yield and their resistance to harsh environmental conditions. GMOs are not a new technique as they have been widely used in food industries. Consequently, the expansion of this approach to include all areas of agriculture is needed to ensure food security. However, the potential risks of using biotechnology for human health should be considered since any new approaches may pose some undesirable side effects. To overcome the potential risks associated with biotechnology applications, biosafety methods can be utilized to reduce or minimize potential risks In addition, other innovative approaches must be used to provide more sustainable food production. This chapter focuses on the role of biotechnology in food security, the challenges of using biotechnology for enhancing food security, the risks associated with using biotechnology, and solutions and future trends.